Wausau schools will put $30M building plan to April vote

It was standing room only Monday night as parents, staff members and others packed into the board room of the Wausau School Board for its decision on its April referendum.(Photo: Keith Uhlig/Daily Herald Media)Buy Photo

WAUSAU — Residents in the Wausau School District will vote in April on a $30 million building plan that would close the district's A.C. Kiefer Educational Center and replace it with four regional sites plus build a total of 10 new K-5 classrooms.

The Wausau School Board unanimously approved the plan Monday, which also includes adding onto the technical education areas at Wausau East and Wausau West high schools and provides funds for maintenance projects on existing buildings. The total cost of the proposal, which aims to add space for 315 elementary students and avoid making costly repairs to the aging Kiefer center, is pegged at about $29.6 million.

If it and a technology referendum get the thumbs-up from voters in spring, the owner of a $100,000 home would see a $58-a-year increase in property taxes.

The eleventh-hour compromise plan is notable in that it does not include the closing of Lincoln Elementary School, another district building in line for costly maintenance work. Last week School Board members were considering three main options, one of which included only the preschool programs. The other two included closing Lincoln, and adding on to to other schools or building a completely new school on the Grant Elementary School site.

The plan, and the specific question for April's referendum, comes after about four years of work, study and debate over how best to use the district's existing buildings and how the district might grow and evolve in the future. The plan is not an end-all to all the work, but it addresses two immediate problems: Overcrowding in many of the district's elementary schools and what to do about the aging Kiefer center.

Closing Lincoln would have saved the district maintenance costs because it, too, will require plenty of work. But School Board members backed away from that proposal after parents and staffers from the Lincoln school community objected to its closure.

"I think maintenance is not a proper excuse in getting rid of Lincoln Elementary School," said Chee Yang, an aide at the school and the father of children who attend school there.

Parents from Jefferson Elementary School asked the board to expand that school, which is one of the schools particularly crunched for space.

The compromise solution mollified the worries of those who want to preserve Lincoln and those who want to see a larger Jefferson.

Specifically, the plan calls for the four early childhood centers to be located at G.D. Jones, Hawthorn Hills, Riverview and Jefferson elementaries. Four K-5 classrooms will be added to Jefferson, and six to Jones.

When the School Board approved the proposal, the packed board room erupted into applause.

The proposal still needs to pass muster with taxpayers. Issuing nearly $30 million of bonds to pay for the project will cost residents an average of roughly $24 per $100,000 of property value.

The board also approved a second referendum question that will ask voters to allow the Wausau School District to exceed state-imposed tax revenue limits by $2 million per year for the next five years to extensively upgrade the district's technology systems. If that passes, it would cost a taxpayer about $34 per $100,000 of property value for the next five years.

If both questions pass an average property taxpayer would pay $58 more per $100,000 of property value per year for their school taxes.

"That's not a slam dunk," said board member Pat McKee. "But this (plan) is practical, and provides the most value for the least amount of dollars."

Keith Uhlig can be reached at 715-845-0651. Find him on Twitter as @UhligK.

The questions

The two questions in the April 7 referendum will be:

•Shall the Wausau School District, Marathon County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $29,565,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of: capital maintenance projects throughout the District; constructing additions to and making related facility renovations and site improvements (including play area, athletic field and parking improvements) at G.D. Jones Elementary School, Hawthorn Hills Elementary School, Riverview Elementary School, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Wausau East High School and Wausau West High School; demolition of A.C. Kiefer Educational Center and restoration of the related site; and acquiring related fixtures, furnishings and equipment?

•Shall the Wausau School District, Marathon County, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes by $2,000,000 per year for a period of five years on a non-recurring basis beginning with the 2015-2016 school year and ending with the 2019-2020 school year, for the purpose of funding the District-approved technology plan?